A constitutional amendment bill that aims to introduce 33% reservation for women in legislatures by 2029, along with increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats, was defeated in the Lower House on Friday. The bill received 298 votes in favor and 230 against, falling short of the required 352 votes needed for a two-thirds majority of the 528 members who took part in the vote.
Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said she aims to change the country’s electoral map to stay in power, calling it an “anti-national act”, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticized opposition parties over their stance on laws aimed at implementing women’s reservation from the 2029 general elections and warned they would face a backlash from voters in the next poll.
Gandhi calls the movement a “shameful act”
During a debate on three bills related to amendments to the Women’s Quota Act and the creation of a Delimitation Commission, Gandhi said the bill did not address real empowerment of women. The Congress chief said instead that he was trying to change the electoral structure of the country.
“This (bill) is an attempt to change the electoral map of the country by using and hiding behind Indian women,” he said, calling it a “shameful act” according to PTI. Gandhi urged the government to re-introduce the Women’s Reservation Act 2023 for implementation and secure the full support of the opposition for its immediate passage.
He also stated that the “central truth” of Indian history was the “brutal, cruel and merciless treatment” of OBCs, Dalits, minorities and women.
“What we are trying to do here is bypass the caste census. They are trying to avoid giving power, representation to my OBC brothers and sisters and instead take away power from them,” Gandhi said, adding that the real agenda is “Manuvaad over Samvidhan”.
He further claimed that the government intends to ensure that the caste census has no impact on representation for the next 15 years, claiming that they want to “kick the ball down the street”.
Describing the move as “very dangerous”, Gandhi said: “You (the government) are afraid of what is happening in the politics of this country, you are afraid of the erosion of your power and you are trying to adjust the political map of India.”
“You have done it in Jammu and Kashmir, you have done it in Assam and now you imagine you can do it all over India,” he said.
He added that the government is essentially telling the southern, northeastern and smaller states that if the BJP is to remain in power, “we will take away your representation”.
“What the government is doing is nothing but an anti-national act. The opposition will not allow the government under any circumstances. The entire opposition will defeat this attempt of yours to attack the nation-state and deprive the OBCs and Dalits of their rightful place in society,” Gandhi mentioned.
“You call OBCs Hindus, you call Dalits Hindus, but you don’t give them any space in the power structure of the country,” he said.
Shah targets Congress over delimitation decision
Reacting to the lengthy debate in the Lok Sabha, Shah also accused the opposition of trying to create a north-south divide over delimitation and the proposed increase in seats, arguing that southern states have equal rights in the House as their northern counterparts.
“Mahil dekh rahin hain, raste ka roda kaun hai (women see who is the obstacle in their way). When they (opposition members) fight in the polls, they will face the wrath of women,” he mentioned.
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Shah said, “The delimitation also includes a provision for increasing the number of seats for SCs and STs in proportion to their growing population. Those who are against delimitation are in a way also against increasing the number of SCs and ST seats.”
“There are 127 seats where the constituency has more than 20 million. It is against the spirit of the principle – One person, one vote and one value. Somewhere there is one representative for 45 million voters and somewhere there is one representative for six million voters. As a result, the value of each vote is not the same in all constituencies,” he further said.
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Shah said that in 1972, the government led by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi introduced the Delimitation Bill which increased the number of seats in the Lok Sabha from 525 to 545 and subsequently froze them at that number. He added that during the Emergency in 1976, the 42nd Amendment stopped delimitation, claiming that the Congress party had denied the people that process then and continues to do so today.
“In 1972, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s government brought the Delimitation Bill and increased the number of seats from 525 to 545, and then froze it at that point. In 1976, to save power during the Emergency, the 42nd Amendment introduced the ban on delimitation. Even then, it was the Congress Party, the Congress and the people today who prepared delimitation to delimit them,” he mentioned.
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The bill proposed to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to a maximum of 850 seats to facilitate the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act before the 2029 general elections, following a census-based delimitation exercise in 2011. The bill also included an increase in the number of seats in state and union territory assemblies to ensure 33 percent reserved seats for women.
(With input from agencies)
